Merry Xmas everybody - a Tedtoire Christmas story
by EmbraceTheMystery
Summary: It's Victoire Weasley's final year at Hogwarts. She has to take her N.E.W.T.s, figure out what she wants to do after school and get over her crush on her childhood best friend, Teddy Lupin. When the time comes to celebrate Christmas at the Burrow, Victoire is more anxious than ever. A new chapter will be uploaded every day until Christmas! T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Six months before:

I clapped politely as the seventh years were called to the front one by one to receive their graduation letter from headmistress McGonagall. I blew out a breath and took a sip of pumpkin juice. Today was not my day. I had woken up an hour early because I had had nightmares all night. When I couldn't sleep I decided to go for a run. Out on the quidditch field, I ran into the last person I wanted to see. Teddy Lupin. He was flying laps. At 5 in the morning. What the hell.

When he saw me, he swooped down towards me and I pretended not to notice him.

"Victoire! Vic, hey. Vic," he touched my shoulder and I stopped. I let out a heavy breath and turned around.

"Oh, I didn't see you there," I lied, smiling.

"Yeah you did. And you saw me last night in the great hall and at that party last weekend and in the library and everywhere else I tried to talk to you where you ignored me. What's going on, Vic?" he asked. Fuck. He had noticed. I thought it might be best to just ignore him until he graduated but apparently that hadn't worked out so well.

"I… wasn't… I mean… I really didn't see you." I felt my cheeks turn red despite the chilly morning air. Why was I still lying to him? Teddy was my best friend since forever, but for some reason I couldn't tell him that the reason I was avoiding him was that I was going to miss him too much once he graduated.

"Victoire. I'm not one of your chummies who believes everything you say because you're pretty when you speak. I know you and I can see that something's wrong, so if it's something I did then please tell me so I can fix it!" He was getting agitated.

"You can't fix it, Teddy. It's out of your control so just let it go and leave me alone, please." Fuck. I was doing this so wrong.

"I will not leave you alone until you tell me what's wrong. Please, Vic, I want to help you."

I did so not deserve him. Teddy was a fixer, a problem solver. I was the opposite. I got people in trouble and talked myself out of it. No consequences, no regrets.

"I tell you to fuck off and you want to help me. What's wrong with you, Lupin?" I asked him.

"You know I can't help it. Kindness is a curse, my dear. But do tell me what's wrong with you please." Teddy was smiling now. That boy forgave my moods quicker than uncle Ron ate Christmas pudding.

I decided to just get it over with and tell him.

"Honestly, I don't want you to leave. And that's so selfish and stupid and I know that I'm only here for another year and that we'll still see each other, but I'll miss you and I don't know how I'm supposed to pass my N.E.W.T.s if you're not here to study with me and I just…" I wasn't finished talking when he pulled me into a hug. It was one of those tight hugs that makes you know that what you say resonates with the other person. I felt tears shoot up into my eyes. Damn. I never cried in front of anyone but my mum.

Teddy placed his head on my shoulder. "We've got the summer, Vic" he reminded me. That we did. Until I went back to school in September and Teddy left for his gap year in Romania to work with uncle Charlie at the dragon resort.

"Promise?" I said into his shoulder.

"Pinky promise." He took my hand in his.

We hugged for another minute or so before I slowly pulled away, sighing. My hand was still in his and I tried not to focus on the sinking feeling in my stomach.

"I'll see you at graduation." I said, smiling sadly.

Teddy nodded. He was tying to smile but I could see that he was sad as well.

After that encounter I had taken a shower and gotten dressed for breakfast. When I walked out of the bathroom, my roommate and best friend, Jade, was sitting on her bed. She always overslept and today was no exception.

"What time is it?" She yawned.

"Half 7." I replied. She jumped up and ran into the bathroom yelling "shit".

10 minutes later we were on our way to the great hall for breakfast.

Jade immediately noticed that I was distracted, especially because I kept glancing at Teddy at the Hufflepuff table.

She tried to distract me by telling me about her vacation plans and how I should visit her and her family. I told her I might but all I could really think about was how Teddy had said "we've got the summer".

We had our usual morning classes and then the graduation ceremony would be held. It was hard enough to pay attention in class the last week before summer but today it was extra hard. I almost set my hair on fire in potions class and didn't hear a single word the professor said in defence against the dark arts.

When it was time for graduation, Jade and I sat down at our usual spot at the Ravenclaw table and waited for the ceremony to begin.

"He's not gone for ever, Vic." Jade tried to cheer me up. I nodded. "I know, I'm just sad. I'll be fine tomorrow." At least, that was what I had told myself.

When McGonagall started reading of the names, I felt my heart begin to beat faster. I knew a lot of people in Teddy's year from parties or Quidditch and I clapped for everyone. When Teddy's name was called I clapped extra hard and I heard a wolf whistle from the Gryffindor table. Probably James.

Teddy took his graduation letter, shook McGonagall's hand and walked off, searching the crowd until his eyes met mine and he grinned. I grinned back. I was proud of him.

 **AN** : Hello friends.

This is going to be a twelve days of christmas kind of story where I post a new chapter every day until christmas (hopefully). I hope someone will read along or read all the chapters adter they've come out. I hope you enjoy this chapter and will be back for the next one tomorrow.

XxEmbraceTheMystery


	2. Chapter 2

After the official ceremony, there was a party in the Hufflepuff common room. Jade and I had promised Teddy to come, and even though I was not in the mood to party, I put on a brave face. This wasn't about me.

When we arrived at the party, someone handed us fire whiskey shots and Jade immediately chugged hers. "Go on Vic! Let's get wasted." I normally didn't like to drown my sorrows in alcohol, but I normally wasn't this upset either.

I chugged the fire whiskey. Then I immediately regretted it, coughing as my throat burned. I turned to Jade. "How did you drink that and not die?" I asked. She shrugged. "Practice makes perfect. Let's dance." She took my hand and pulled me into the middle of the common room where the furniture had been pushed aside to creat a dance floor. Jade and I danced and did silly moves, occasionally drinking more fire whiskey, now mixed with Coca Cola. I twirled and Jade and I did the twist, laughing loudly.

I didn't know how much time had passed when Teddy tapped me on the shoulder. "Teddy! Congrats!" I yelled over the music and gave him a hug.

"Can we talk somewhere?" He asked. He had to lean down a bit and yell into my ear. I nodded and he started walking somewhere. I followed, not caring what people thought.

We left the common room and walked up some stairs. Before my brain had time to catch up with the layout of Hogwarts we were on the astronomy tower.

Teddy turned around and I could tell that he was upset about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked, I thought he would be happy to have graduated.

"After what you said this morning, I couldn't help but think about you and I've not been able to think clearly all day. It's just… I thought I knew where we stood, but now I'm confused." He said.

I wasn't sure I was following him.

"Confused about what?" I asked. He always seemed to have everything figured out.

"About us, Vic. About you and what I mean to you. I thought… " he stopped. I tilted my head.

I could usually read him like a book, but this insecure, confused version of Teddy was utterly unfamiliar.

"Teddy, I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at." I had an idea of course, but that may have just been my drunk brain making things up.

"Never mind, you're drunk. We can talk tomorrow." He said and started to leave.

"Wait." I said and he stopped.

"I'm not that drunk and it's going to be hard enough to say goodbye tomorrow, so we'd better talk now. You thought we were just friends but now you're not sure?" I guessed.

He turned around.

"Vic, if you wanna be friends that's alright and I won't say anything about this ever again but I just got this feeling." He shrugged. Apparently he was as bad at talking about this stuff as I was.

"Me too." I kissed him.

AN: I forgot to mention this yesterday but I honestly don't remember if anything was said about Victoire and Teddy in Cursed Child so let's just pretend that Cursed Child is not canon.

Xx, EmbraceTheMystery


	3. Chapter 3

Six months later:

"All aboard!" The conductor of the Hogwarts express yelled. The train slowly started moving and I leaned back against the soft seat. It was the first day of Christmas break and I was going back to London and then back to the Burrow for the Weasley Christmas Extravaganza.

Jade nudged me with her foot. "D'you know what we should do? We should meet in London a day before we go back. We can go shopping and see the muggle sights, take a tour, you know?" She suggested. Jade was spending Christmas with her mum in Brighton. Her dad had left them when Jade was 8. He lived in America now and they had no contact with him anymore. It was always weird for me because my family, huge and chaotic as it is, is one of the most important things in my life.

I grinned at jade.

"That sounds great. We can spend the night at my aunt Ginny's and then catch the train with my cousins." I suggested.

"Yes, love that," Jade squealed in excitement. "Speaking of loooove," she lowered her voice. Suggestively, "are you seeing a certain friend of yours at Christmas?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

I shook my head. She meant Teddy of course. Jade had been updated about our summer romance constantly, mostly because I texted her a paragraph about how great Teddy was just about every day. Especially because Teddy and I had not told anyone in my family that we were dating. It would have been a bit awkward, because my family had not so subtly tried to get us to date for years and if they found out they would a) not have left us alone together and b) my dad would have probably tried to lock me into my room for the rest of my life.

"Unfortunately, a certain friend of mine wont be in the country this Christmas because he and my uncle have to take care of about 40 sick dragons. They have the flue and uncle Charlie and Teddy volunteered to stay behind so their Romanian colleagues could be with their families." I explained.

"So you're devastated?" Jade guessed.

"Honestly, no. It's easier to not think about Teddy when he's, you know, not there. She laughed and I felt a bit better. Thinking about him still hurt, even though I hadn't seen him for almost 5 months. Not like I was counting or anything. Plus, he had all but broken up with me at platform nine and three quarters before I went back to Hogwarts for my last year.

"You should focus on school and I wont even be in the country. You deserve someone who is actually here for you." Teddy had said before kissing me goodbye. I had spent half the train ride crying. Jade had done everything in her power to cheer me up and we ended up buying half of the pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs from the trolley witch. After that it got better. At Hogwarts I could at least distract myself by studying, or snogging other boys, or drinking.

I was hoping that I could escape all mention of Teddy over Christmas, but knowing my family that was more than unlikely. Uncle Harry was well on the way to founding the official Teddy Lupin Fanclub and he talked about his godson and how proud he was of him every chance he got. My parents weren't much better. My mum had tried to set me up with Teddy since I was 5. My dad was way overprotective of me and would freak out. Teddy wasn't exactly the most innocent angel of all of Hogwarts. What really hadn't helped was that my cousin had absolutely seen Teddy and I kissing before I left for Hogwarts and she had for sure told everyone in the family. I hadn't received any angry letters about it, though, so maybe my dad was not as mad as I thought. I could already tell that this Christmas would be a lot of questions about me and Teddy and I was not prepared to talk about that, especially not with my collective family.

"I think we're almost there," Jade pointed out and I looked out the window. Sure enough, the fields and mountains had given way to the rows of houses of Londons suburbs.

Jade and I said goodbye on the platform, where she left to get a train to Bristol and I stayed to find my siblings. My dad was supposed to pick us up but I usually made sure to find them before we went to find him, just in case one of them had fallen asleep on the train or something.

I spotted my sister Dominique, she was almost as tall as me even though she was two years younger. She had more curves, too. We both had a very similar face, but my features always seemed pointier, more like my french grandmother, whereas Dominique had her Veela beauty, but also softer, kinder features. I made my way to where Dominique was standing with her Gryffindor friends and tried to get her to wrap up her animated conversation about international magical relations.

Dominique already had more of an idea about what she wanted to do with her life than me.

I was always pushing away any thoughts about the future, telling myself I had time, but I only had half a year left at Hogwarts and no idea what would happen afterwards.

"Where's Louis?" Dominique pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Dunno, I was looking for him." I told her and we left her friends to find our brother.

We found Louis already with our dad, chatting excitedly about everything he had learned.

"Girls!" My dad beamed when he saw us an hugged both of us.

I would have been embarrassed, but I was too glad to see him.


	4. Chapter 4

When we arrived at Shell Cottage, my mum came out and kissed all of us on the cheek, then ushered us inside for dinner. My mum thought any good dinner consisted mostly of meat, so she hadn't been thrilled when I decided to eat vegetarian a year ago. She had been even less excited when Teddy, a regular dinner guest of ours, had also stopped eating meat in solidarity.

By now, mum had found out how to feed a person without meat and she had made Quiche and steamed vegetables for dinner. My favourite meal of hers.

At dinner, I was lost in thought. My siblings talked about a lot of things that happened to them since school had started, all of which they had already told my parents per owl. My mum kept touching my hair affectionately, trying to get me to talk with them, but I was too far gone. After we finished eating I excused myself and immediately went to bed. I could tell that my parents were worried about me but I didn't feel like telling them about my problems. It's not that I didn't trust them or thought they didn't understand me, it was more the fact that if I told them about Teddy, they would find out that I kept our relationship from them and if I told them that I didn't know what I wanted to do after Hogwarts, they would send me letters every week with the daily prophet's career pages.

I decided I would rather sleep on everything so I wouldn't be too tired when we went to my Grandma's the next day.

I dreamt of all the times Teddy and I had played hide and seek around the house. We hadn't stopped until we were way too old, but with him, it had never seemed like we were too old. Everyone else was just not having fun. My dream suddenly felt threatening. It was my turn to search for Teddy and I looked in all of his usual hiding places, but I couldn't find him.

I ran outside to check there, but all I could see was the sea. Then I realised that I had been on an island all along. And the water was rising and I realised I couldn't swim and I realised I had been alone all along and there was no house and the water touched my thighs and…

I woke up, panting. It was still dark outside. I looked at my phone. It was 4 am. Christmas eve. I had a text from Jade, telling me she had gotten home okay. I also had a text from Teddy from last night. "Merry Christmas, sorry I cant be there. Thinking of you. XX"

I looked at my phone for two solid minutes. He hadn't texted me once since he left. Now I was utterly confused.

I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't so I went for a run. I spent the whole time thinking about Teddy. First he broke up with me and then he said he was thinking of me? That boy would be the death of me.

As I was running along the beach I realised how much I had missed home. Hogwarts had always felt like home, but Shell Cottage was a different kind of home. It was childhood, and summers and family.

By the time I came back, my mum was up and making breakfast. She was singing old french songs and didn't stop when she noticed me. She was making a fruit salad and some pancakes. I sat down at the kitchen table and peeled apples with her. She kept singing and I joined in for the chorus since I didn't know all the lyrics.

When my mum got up to make the pancakes, she used the spoon as a microphone and started dancing, holding her hand out for me to join her. I did and we swayed together. I giggled and sat down again. I felt a little better.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around noon when we left for the burrow. I had taken way too long to get ready, getting dressed and then changing my outfit three times, then doing my make up and hair and also packing several outfits for the next days. We always spent a few days at the burrow, but Christmas day was the most exciting, of course.

Dominique was already sitting in the kitchen with my mum when I came downstairs. Louis arrived a minute later but he had obviously just gotten out of bed. My dad came down the stairs at last and we apparated to the burrow.

We appeared in the middle of the yard, between laundry lines that were hung with bedsheets despite the fact that it looked like it was about to rain. My dad smiled and pushed his way through the sheets. This was his childhood home after all. We walked into the kitchen through the garden door and were immediately hit with a wave of warm air from the oven, where trays of Christmas biscuits were baking.

My Grandmother came running into the kitchen almost immediately. "Bill! Fleur! And the kids! Oh how lovely!" she exclaimed, hugging all of them. "The other children are in the attic, if you want to go play with them," she said to Dominique and Louis. She half said it to me as well, but at sixteen I was a bit too old to be with my cousins and normally, I would have hung out with Teddy the whole time. Now, I was either going to join my cousins, who were either much younger than me or currently going through puberty or I could join my aunts and uncles, discuss politics and school and my future with them. It was both horrible. I pretended to follow my siblings upstairs but then went into one of the empty bedrooms. Better to be alone than to talk to my family right now.

I pulled out my phone and texted Jade.

"Literally why am I here right now? I don't want to talk about my life right now. What do I dooooo?"

Jade replied instantly.

"Oh honey, think of something else to talk about. Idk, tell them you want to be an auror or something."

Jade always gave me actual, useful advice. She probably knew I wasn't going to actually follow it. I was going to sit there and wallow in my sad thoughts until it was time for dinner. But Jade knew me too well.

"If you're still alone I want you to at least ask your Grandma if she needs help with dinner."

Jade was right, of course.

I went downstairs and asked my Grandma. She cheerfully told me to peel potatoes and carrots. I sat down and began peeling.

Mz Grandma kept up a constant chatter about her and my Grandpa and her children an grandchildren and I just sat and listened. Occasionally humming an "mmh" so she knew I was listening.

When I was done with the vegetables I checked my phone and texted Jade

"Helping my Grannie, ist quite nice. Thanks."

Jade only sent me back a smiley face. I checked my Instagram account. I was quite successful on Instagram. Even though it was a muggle site, you couldn't help but hear about it. So I had created an account when I was 13 and it had taken of quite quickly. I mostly posted outfit pictures or pictures of me studying in the library or pictures of Teddy and I over the summer. Mz newest notification was that someone had liked a picture of me and Teddy in France that summer. I looked at the picture and smiled. I remembered that Teddy had texted me and I had not replied. It was what he deserved after not talking to me for five months, but it was not my style.

"Merry Christmas you arse. Feel free to text me again in another five months."

I typed the message but didn't send it right away. I weighed my options. Don't send it and just not reply at all. Don't send it and write something nicer. Or send it and see how he reacts. I decided that I had a right to be angry. I had sent him letters, texts and called him and he had ignored me completely. I sent the message.

"Are you alright, Victoire?" my Grandma asks me. I have an expressive face. I nod. "Yeah, alright, just texted a friend." Grandma smiled. "Oh yes, right, I always forget what you can do with those muggle things." I smiled as well and put my phone away. Teddy probably wouldn't reply anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

"So Victoire, how's school?" Grandma asked. I sighed.

"It's alright. We've got the N.E.W.T.s coming up. It's a bit stressful and I've been studying a whole lot but it's fine." I said. I had been studying a lot. I wasn't sure how well I would do though. I wasn't that motivated and I definitely was not interested. But I was a ravenclaw and I was not going to let my moods ruin my marks so I had been in the library all the time.

My Grandma smiled knowingly. "I remember when your father was in his last year. He had always just been good at school without studying. Then, when his N.E.W.T.s came around, he didn't get any good marks." She laughed.

"Really?" I asked, I had always felt like my dad had had his life together even as a teenager.

"Oh yes. I was not amused at all. I expected Ron or George or Fred not to do well, and none of them actually ended up taking their N.E.W.T.s so I might have been right, but Bill was always such a good student. But then he got the job at Gringotts and everything turned out fine. He finally started working hard and then he met your mother and the rest is history." She smiled and crossed her arms, leaning against the counter.

I smiled too. My Grandma seemed to understand that I didn't have shit figured out, but that that was alright. She didn't say it but I felt like she meant it.

Soon after that, it was almost time for dinner. My whole family had arrived over the course of the day, except for Charlie, of course, and Grandma and I had finished cooking. My mum had helped us sometimes and my uncle George came in to annoy his mum. My aunt Hermione and uncle Ron had offered to help, but my Grandma told them to relax. Then she told me that truthfully, they were both terrible cooks. Uncle Harry had offered to help multiple times, but he was Grandmas favourite, even though he wasn't even her son, so she had told him not to every time. Aunt Ginny was allowed to help, but after only talking to me about Quidditch, Grandma sent her away as well. I didn't play Quidditch at Hogwarts, but growing up with Teddy meant playing in the garden, watching every game and knowing every team.

When Teddy and I went to Harry and Ginny's for dinner, Quidditch was always the main topic. I liked talking about Quidditch, so I didn't mind.

Uncle Percy showed up shortly before dinner, came into the kitchen to greet his mum and then sat with his wife at the other end of the living room from his brothers. They still teased him a lot and he didn't handle it too well.

I was setting the table, when I heard a scream from the kitchen. I looked up and saw that everyone else was just as confused. I turned towards the kitchen and my dad went past me to check it out, calling out to his mother. I followed him, hand on my wand. Then I heard my Grandma yell "Charlie! I thought you couldn't come!"

Charlie was here. And if Charlie was here, that meant…

"Vic!" Teddy was here.


	7. Chapter 7

I was frozen in place. I felt the emotional turmoil of the last five months cook up inside me. He was here. He was standing in front of me, all long limbs and red and green Christmas hair and Christmas jumper under a leather jacket. I couldn't believe that he was really there.

"What are you… when… how…?" I asked.

Teddy smiled and hugged me. I hugged him back. No matter how mad I was at him, it was still Teddy and he was still my best friend. I was almost as tall as him, so I could see my dad watching us from the kitchen over his shoulder. He was frowning, but I smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

Teddy let go and said:"Come upstairs with me, I need to explain some things."

I followed him. I knew my family was watching us go and either fangirling or screaming internally. I ignored them. Teddy was here. I couldn't help but grin as I followed him up the stairs.

We ended up in the same bedroom that I had sat in alone before.

"Vic, I'm sorry I didn't reply to your messages. I'm sorry I broke up with you. It was dumb and immature and I should have known better but…" he trailed off. He was standing in front of me. I could tell he was avoiding my gaze. He took a strand of my blonde hair in his hand and looked at that instead.

"But?" I prompted. I had waited for this explanation a long time and I was not about to go easy on him because he looked cute with his lip piercing. He did look extremely cute, though.

"But, you deserve better than me." He dropped the piece of hair and took a step back. I crossed my arms.

"Not good enough, Lupin. I want a real explanation. You can't just go silent on me and then not even tell me why. Give me one good reason and it's forgiven." I wouldn't have forgiven him that easily but I did know that our friendship was more valuable than a fight, so I would forgive him eventually.

"Vic, I can't explain. I'm sorry." He walked past me and left the room.

AN: sorry this is so short and sucky but I don't have time right now. Teddy will get his girl eventually (or won't he? ;)).


	8. Chapter 8

"What?" I shrieked and turned to run after him. Look at me, I thought, running after a boy like some foolish little girl. I reached Teddy on the stairs and grabbed his arm.

"What the hell?" I stared at him. He was just standing there, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Vic, let's not do this here." He looked around nervously.

"Well we just were somewhere else and you didn't want to explain there, so…"

"It's not that I don't want to explain!" He pushed his hands through his hair in desperation, making the places where his fingers touched his hair turn blue.

"Then what. Is. It?" I asked, clenching my fists. This whole cat and mouse act was driving me crazy.

"Can we go outside? Please?" He asked. I shrugged and he led the way.

"Here we are. Now explain!" I commanded once we were in the garden.

The kitchen window was slightly open and I was sure my dad and Harry were listening in on us.

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So this summer, after I graduated, your parents talked to me. They asked me how much time we spent together at Hogwarts and when I said 'almost all the time' they were worried. They thought you might be tempted to quit if I wasn't there or something. So they asked me to cut you off. To stop texting or calling or owling you" he sighed again and took his face in his hands. He was clearly ashamed and uncomfortable.

"And I went along with it. Because I thought you deserved better than me. I still think you deserve better. I wanted you to get the grades I know you can get and find someone who will be good for you, not someone like me." His shoulders sank and he scratched his head.

I didn't know what to say. That was so dumb. I didn't think people actually did stuff like that.

"What the fuck?" I asked. It was all I could ask.

Teddy shook his head.

"Victoire, I'm sorry. It was a stupid plan and I should have called you. But I wanted you to be happy."

I crossed my arms.

"You wanted me to be happy? I was fucking miserable! I wasn't doing well in school because I was imagining you falling in love with some Romanian girl and forgetting all about me. I wasn't feeling well because I thought our friendship meant nothing to you! I was going crazy because you weren't around and you wouldn't even talk to me! It was a stupid fucking idea and I can't believe you seriously thought you were helping me," I yelled.

"I know, Vic. I'm sorry. Unbelievable sorry. I would do anything for you, you know that, right?"

He stepped towards me and tried to tilt up my chin but I stepped back.

"No. You can't just waltz back into my life like that! You can't pretend nothing happened and you sure as hell cannot tell me you're sorry." I turned to leave. I needed to think this through.

I stormed back inside the house, where my relatives were all doing something to make it look like they hadn't just listened to our fight. I didn't care. They should have their own problems to think about. I stormed up the stairs and locked myself in a bathroom.

I immediately texted Jade the situation. I would have called her but I didn't want to disturb her and her family. If she didn't reply, I would have figured it out for myself. But of course Jade replied almost instantly.

"What. The. Fuck." She texted.

"I know right?" I responded.

She then told me to ignore Teddy for the rest of the day, as payback for the last five months. I thought about it. It hurt so much to walk away from Teddy but it was what he deserved. That much was for sure. I decided to try it out. One day. Fully ignoring him. I would be able to do that, no matter how painful it got. I still had pride and if he wanted to make it up to me he would have to bloody well work for it.


	9. Chapter 9

At Christmas dinner, I made sure to sit on the opposite side of the table from Teddy. This ended up placing me in between Charlie and Ginny. Teddy sat between Dominique and Harry. He kept trying to catch my eye, but I avoided his gaze. I asked Charlie about the dragons and he gave me a detailed report about each dragon's life. I enjoyed listening to him even if I had no idea about dragons.

"You know he never talks about anything but you?" Charlie whispered in my ear when everyone else was deep in conversation.

"Who?" I asked. I knew who he meant but I wanted some more details.

"You know who, Vicky. He really missed you. And he likes you. A lot. Don't let him go. You two are something special." I looked at my plate of vegetables. I knew that Charlie was probably right and I knew I would forgive Teddy eventually but right now, I needed to leave him hanging for a bit.

"I'll let him off the hook tomorrow. But he deserves some hurting." Charlie snickered.

"I told him to call you, you know."

"Doesn't seem to have worked."

"He was convinced you were already in love with some Gryffindor."

I scoffed. Teddy really had no idea how much he meant to me.

"Not very likely. Anyway, how's your love life, Charlie?" Charlie was my only uncle who was not married.

"My heart belongs to my dragons," he confessed. I knew that was true.

Charlie continued talking about his dragons.

When we were eating desert, Ginny nudged me.

"You know, I heard you in the garden earlier." Trust Ginny to bring up something everyone else would have pretended to not be aware of.

"And you're absolutely right. He's a bit of an ass, but he's got a good heart. And I know for sure that he really, really loves you. So give him hell, but not for too long," she continued.

I smiled. My family was apparently rooting for us. I looked up at Teddy. He was talking to Harry and Dominique and all of them kept glancing at me every now and again. He was probably having similar conversations.

After dinner, my cousins played board games, my uncle George and his wife Angelina were doing the dishes, Ron and Hermione were slow-dancing to Christmas carols and my other uncles and aunts were sat on the sofas discussing wizard politics. Teddy was sitting with Harry and Ginny, catching up, probably. I checked my phone and saw that Jade had sent me multiple messages asking for updates, so I decided to go outside to call her.

I stood in the garden with my phone in my hand.

"You mean the world to me, you know that, right?"

I turned around. Teddy stood in the doorway. I rolled my eyes and turned around again. I was determined to keep ignoring him.

"Victoire, I am so sorry for not calling you. It's the stupidest mistake I've ever made. And you've read my history of magic papers, I make a lot of mistakes." I could hear that he was walking towards me. I put my phone away so he couldn't see that I was talking to Jade about him.

He was standing right behind me now.

"You are the most amazing, breathtaking, incredible person I know. And I miss you every day when you're not with me. Please, Victoire."

I walked back inside.


	10. Chapter 10

Since Teddy had decided to follow me outside before, I figured the only way to talk to Jade in private was to lock myself in a bathroom once again. I called Jade and she picked up fairly quickly, considering it was Christmas eve.

"Aren't you with your family?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I told my mum about you and Teddy and now she's really invested in what happens next. You're on speaker phone, by the way." Typical Jade. She told her mum all the gossip at Hogwarts and her mum was usually more interested than Jade and I.

"Oh, hi Miss Miller. Ive got a bit of an update," I told Jade and her mum what had just happened outside.

"I swear that boy does not deserve you," Jade's mum interjected. She was a bit scarred because of Jade's dad leaving her.

"Thats not true. He is perfect for you, Vic. I know you two are going to make up eventually. But do leave him hanging a bit longer. He didn't talk to you for five months. And then he gives you some bullshit excuse about wanting what's best for you. Seriously, what is his deal," Jade exclaimed.

I shook my head. I wasn't sure I wanted to ignore Teddy any longer.

"It's just… he's here. And I haven't seen him in so long and I just want it to be like it used to. I want to talk to him and I want to not think about whether or not he'll ever call me again after Christmas." I sighed. Jade and her mum sighed in agreement.

They told me to stick with the ignoring him plan and I decided to pull myself together and leave myself a shred of dignity by not just blindly letting him in again when he had shut me out for almost half a year. When I came back into the living room, I realised that it was already later than I thought. My little cousins had been sent to bed already and the rest were trying to hide their sleepiness.

I sat with my siblings on the floor. They were playing a game with Harry's and Ron's children. My sister turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Teddy?" She asked.

"How should I know?" I replied. Now that she mentioned it, Teddy was nowhere to be seen. Neither were Harry, Ginny, Charlie and my mum. That could not mean anything good.


	11. Chapter 11

I was about to go look for Teddy but thought better of it. I was more determined than ever to ignore him and going looking for him was doing the opposite of that. I stayed put with my sister and cousins. "Did you know that Teddy wrote you a letter?" Dominique asked me.

"How should I know? He couldn't bring himself to send it apparently. Or call me, or text me…" I replied. Dominique shrugged delicately.

"And why do you care, Dom? Don't you have your own problems?" I snapped. I didn't want to talk about Teddy all the time, especially not with my family. Domique smirked. She was used to my moods and honestly she was much worse when she was in a bad mood.

"My life is pretty good right now, actually. You know why? Because I know where I stand with my relationship." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Since when do you have a relationship?" I asked her. This was the first I was hearing of this.

"I don't have one. And thats why I know where I stand with it," she said.

I rolled my eyes. How unhelpful. I was about to reply, when I heard someone singing. That wasn't that unusual at the burrow but it was multiple voices, singing in unison, which was definitely not a normal occurrence.

Just as I got up to explore, Teddy came in, singing. Behind him were Harry, Ginny, Charlie and my mum. They were singing All I want for Christmas is you. Teddy was standing in front of me and really performing the song. I put my face in my hands. What the hell was going on? My cousins were all staring at Teddy like he was mad. I guess he was because he certainly looked like a fool.

He was singing the chorus and dancing stupidly.

I just stood there, not knowing what to do. I thought about just walking away but that would have set a bad example for my cousins so I stayed put, crossed my arms and waited for it to be ever.

One thing was for sure, Teddy was giving this his all. He performed that stupid Christmas song as if there were no tomorrow. When he finished by going down on his knees and howling the high note, my cousins al started to clap. Teddy was looking at me and I was deliberately not returning the look. He had some nerve if he thought I would forgive him just like that. I slipped out of the room while my cousins were still clapping and giving Teddy the thumbs up.

To my surprise, it wasn't Teddy who came after me, but my mum.

"Victoire, wait. Please don't be so hard on Teddy. He did what he did because your father and I were worried about you. It's our fault. Teddy just wanted to do what is best for you. And not to get in trouble with your father." My mum was gesturing wildly as she explained that my parents had started worrying and that my father thought Teddy might be a bad influence on me, which my mum thought was ridiculous. She told me to not be mad at Teddy and be mad at them instead.

"That's not how emotions work, though. Teddy hurt me. And that's entirely his fault and I can't forgive him just like that. I don't care if he thought he was saving the world. He was hurting me. That's all I know." I walked upstairs.

I decided to go to bed, so I went straight to the bed room I had put my stuff in. I tried to fall asleep but all I could think about was the look on Teddy's face whenever I walked away from him. I turned to my sight.

Think of something else, Victoire. I told myself. I thought about the homework I was supposed to complete over the winter break. Was it even worth doing? I had no idea what I wanted to do after Hogwarts so it seemed pointless to even try to do well. At the same time, I felt extremely guilty for not even trying. I decided to at least try.

I rolled onto my other side again. Time to sleep. My body thought otherwise. I had a sudden urge to run. I pressed my eyes shut harder, trying to signal to my body that it was time to sleep. My body refused. Eventually, I stopped trying and looked at my phone. It was 3 a.m. which meant my family would have gone to bed already. I got out of bed and put on running clothes. I wasn't going to sleep anyway, so I might as well do something productive.

I walked downstairs. To my surprise, it wasn't quiet. There was music playing. Christmas music. I decided to check it out. The music was coming from the living room. I walked in, careful not to make any noise.

Teddy was sitting on the sofa. His hair had turned black and he had his face in his hands. He looked broken. I felt my stomach plunge. I never wanted to see him like this. Normally, I would have sat with him and comforted him but I needed to stay strong about my own principles. I leaned against the door frame. I wasn't sure what I thought was going to happen once he looked up.

He didn't even look up though. He didn't move at all, except that he said "Please sit".

"No." I stayed where I was. He scoffed. Now he looked at me. His eyes were red, like he'd been crying.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked, but I thought I could hear pride in his voice.

"I had to be, or you would have walked all over me," I said.

"I never would."

I shook my head. He still didn't see why I was mad.

"You already did, Ted." I turned to walk away. He got up and took my hand.

"Dance with me?" He pulled me closer and we started swaying. I tried to keep some distance, but it was hard. This was Teddy. And he was here. With me.

"Why did you come?" I asked. It would have been so easy to just be sad.

"For you. And for me. Christmas is hard enough for me, and even harder if you aren't there." He put his head on my shoulder. It was familiar and strange. He wasn't usually this open, not even with me.

"Teddy…" I sighed.

I couldn't keep this up. I had missed him so much. I wanted to tell him about my life, my problems and my plans and I wanted to hear about his.

I put my head on his shoulder and we swayed in silence for a while. Eventually, he lifted his head off of my shoulder and put his hand under my chin.

"I'll never leave again," he promised. And then, he kissed me.

 **AN: sorry for missing a few days but it was Christmas for me too. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is the last one for now, but there might be more if people want to read more.**

 **xx EmbraceTheMystery**


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